Press

“Before I Die is merely one of the most creative community projects ever.
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—The Atlantic

“Candy Chang’s work at the intersection of public art, community engagement, and urban design touches on every aspect of art’s role in society and contributes to meaningful placemaking in our communities.”

—Public Art Review

“Through a series of large-scale projects that combine installation art with social activism, Chang has encouraged people to engage with public spaces to let their voices be heard.
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—O, the Oprah Magazine

“The notion of turning neglected space into an active invitation to engage with your community and get to know your neighbors is a wonderful embodiment of enlightened urbanism. What’s more, it’s a reminder that not all meaningful social platforms are accessed through a screen.”

—Brain Pickings

“Candy Chang’s ambitious projects answer the question ‘Can art change the world?’ with a unanimous ‘Yes.’ With the help of neighbors and dreamers everywhere, she’s making the world a better place, one street corner at a time.”

—We R Classic

“Candy Chang's art serves as a wake-up call in our fast-paced digital age. Armed with little more than chalk, labels or post-it notes, she transforms nondescript urban spaces into compelling works that inspire the often device-obsessed masses to engage with each other, and the world around them.”

—Ad Age

“They’re the stuff of everyday life from people of all walks of life… Young or old, rich or poor, the Before I Die wall does make you think as you walk by.”

—NBC News

“Death can inspire life. Especially in New Orleans, on the corner of Marigny and Burgundy, where the Before I Die project has used the specter of urban decay and death to create art and inspire. Using a boarded up house as a canvas, artist Candy Chang transformed a haunting reminder of blight and divestment into a powerful affirmation of human life and imagination.”

—Life and Times

“Good urban design doesn’t just help people engage with their cities; according to artist and designer Candy Chang, it also helps people engage with each other… Chang creates public spaces that spark conversation and reflect a sense of community identity—often using little more than chalk, stickers, and some creativity.”

—The Atlantic

“Art as a forum for localized collective experience is invariably the driver of Chang’s work... a perfect crystallization of what I interpret as the colliding themes that have fueled her remarkably poignant, accessible, and affecting brand of art: mental health and the desire to be heard, the dynamics of public space, and ultimately, living with ourselves and each other.”

—Pelican Bomb

“Candy Chang has different cultures in her DNA but just one obsession: intervening in public space. For her, it’s like setting up a hybrid board game designed for mass participation in the heart of the city. Thanks to this artistic modus vivendi in which art flirts with activism, Chang’s large-scale participatory installations both blur the boundaries between public and private and give passers-by the opportunity to spontaneously interact with and ask questions about her works. Ultimately, her installations provide the public with the means to reclaim the space around and within them.”